FAQs

A Patent is a protection title, valid for 20 years (provided that the annual fees are paid) granted to the beneficiary for new inventions involving an inventive step and which are susceptible to industrial application. An invention is considered new if it’s not part of the state of the art and involves an inventive step - if, that is, at the discretion of an expert, it does not arise in an apparent manner from the current state of the art. It is susceptible to industrial application if it can be manufactured and used in any sector of the manufacturing process.

The following are not considered inventions:

1. discoveries, scientific theories and mathematical methods;
2. aesthetic creations;
3. drawings, rules and methods for performing mental acts, games or doing business, as well as computer programs;
4. presentations of information.

Furthermore, a Patent is not granted in relation to an invention whose exploitation is contrary to public order or good morals, provided that such exploitation is not deemed to be contrary simply because it is prohibited by Law and Regulations.

The authorised lawyer or the applicant may file an application for granting a patent along with the accompanying texts which include the description, claims, summary and drawings, if any, with the Department of Registrar of Companies and Intellectual Property. The texts are written in a particular format on the basis of the Patents Law of 1998 and Regulations R.A.A. 46/99. A certified translation is made in a foreign language: English, French or German, either by an affidavit or by sworn translator of the Republic of Cyprus.

The application is preliminarily examined regarding formalities and the document attached and, provided that it meets the requirements of the Law, it is sent to the European Patent Office attached with the relevant fee, for conducting the search report, which, upon being studied by the submitter, and provided that the invention is registrable, is registered with the Department of Registrar of Companies and Intellectual Property. Upon paying the relevant fees, the Grant Certificate is issued and published in the Official Gazette of the Republic. Provided that the annual renewal fees are paid,  the invention is protected up to twenty years.

 For more details, visit page Granting a National Patent.

The new form of agent authorisation is required where the previous authorisation has been revoked.

The duration of a Patent is 20 years from the filing date of the application. The validity of a Patent depends on the payment of the prescribed annual renewal fees.

In case where the Patent concerns a pharmaceutical product, following a relevant application, an additional protection is granted, the duration of which cannot exceed 5 years from the date of the basic Patent.

Additionally, if the Patent relates to a paediatric pharmaceutical product, upon submitting the relevant application, an additional protection of 6 months is granted.

The application for renewal of a Patent is filed with form Π.13 and must be accompanied by a fixed renewal fee of the specific year, 3 months before the expiry of the patent. In case where the application is filed through a representative, the form of authorisation of agent (Π.8) signed by the patent’s owner must be sumbitted.

There is an additional charge for late payment of renewal fees for each month or specific days for the delay (not exceeding 6 months) of 25% in addition to the renewal amount, for each month of delay.

If the annual renewal fees for a patent have not been paid within the grace period of 6 months provided by Law, the application is withdrawn or, respectively, the Patent is strike off.

The submitted has the right, up to 12 months after the expiry of the grace period or, within 18 months of the date of withdrawal/strike off, to submit an application for reinstatement by form Π.14. If the Registrar approves the application for reinstatement, then the submitter is called to file the form Π.15 attached with the corresponding renewal, by paying also the respective renewal fees together with the relevant charges and the reinstatement fee.

For more details, please refer to page Renewal of a Patent.

• Form  Π.2 with the relevant fees;
• relevant documents that proof the change of name/address (EPO Form 2544, excerpt from the company register, change of owner’s name/address certificate etc.)
• Authorisation form Π.8 in relation to the new name/address;
• Translation either by an affidavit or by sworn translator of the Republic of Cyprus.

For more details, please refer to page Amending patents particulars.

• Form Π.3 with the relevant fees;
• Assignment/merger agreement, which must include:
  • assignment/merger date;
  • names and address of all parties (Assignor/Assignee);
  • reference to Patent whose rights are assigned;
  • signatures of all parties.
• Authorisation form Π.8 from the new owner.
• Translation either by an affidavit or by sworn translator of the Republic of Cyprus.

For more details, please refer to the page Assignment of rights or merger of the owner.

A Supplementary Protection Certificate for Pharmaceutical products is granted if:

1. the product is protected in Cyprus by a basic patent;
2. a valid first authorisation licence has been granted for the pharmaceutical product ;
3.  a certificate has not been issued for the product.

The Supplementary Protection Certificate for Pharmaceutical products is basically, an extension of the duration of the protection period for patents whose rights concern pharmaceutical products.

For more details, please refer to the page Granting Supplementary Protection Certificate for Medicinal/Plant Protection Products.

The application (form Π.19) must be submitted within 6 months from the date which the first licence authorisation of the product was granted or within 6 months from the grant date of the basic patent in case where the first authorisation precedes the issue of the basic patent.

For more details, please refer to the page Granting Supplementary Protection Certificate for Medicinal/Plant Protection Products.

The right to obtain the certificate rests with the beneficiary of the basic Patent.

The certificate is valid after the expiration of the basic patent and for a period equal to the period that intervenes between the submission date of the application for the basic patent and the date of issuance of the first authorisation licence, reduced by five years.

The application may be filed during the submission of the application for SPCP and two years before the expiry of the SPCP.

The application for extension of the duration for paediatric pharmaceutical products is sumbitted by letter and the relevant fees are two hundred fifty euros (€250).

The beneficiary of the SPCP has the right to extend the protection period for paediatric pharmaceutical products, provided that a compliance declaration has been obtained by an approved and completed paediatric investigation plan.

The duration of the extension is six months after the expiry of the SPCP.

The application PCT/RO/101 (which can be found on the webpage www.wipo.int) may be submitted in three copies to the Department of Registrar of Companies and Intellectual Property.

In order for an International Patent application to be submitted, the following conditions must be met:

• The applicant is citizen or resident of Cyprus Republic;
• The application has been completed in the English, French or German language;
• The specifications are included, that is, the description, claims, summary and any drawings of the invention;
• The search fee, the international fee and the transfer fee have been paid, as provided for in the respective regulation of the Patent Cooperation Treaty.

For more details, please refer to the page Granting a National Patent.

Following the submittion of an application, changes are permitted until the application is granted. 

Yes, as long as the previous submission relates the same patent in one of the Member States of the European Union (or in a Member State of the Treaty of Paris) within a period of 12 months before the submission of the national application to the Republic of Cyprus.

A copyright constitutes an intellectual property right that grants exclusive protection to the author of the work.

In particular, the author of a work includes the:

• writer;
• composer;
• painter;
• sketcher;
• sculptor;
• turner
• engraver;
• sound recording producer;
• producer of the first fixation of film;
• program broadcaster in a country;
• owner of the material on which a photograph was taken;
• database manufacturer.

A neighbouring right, in contrary with the copyright which protects the creator, provides protection to:

• artistic interpreters or executors, such as:
  • actors;
  • musicians;
  • singers;
  • choristers;
  • dancers;
  • theatrical puppeteers;
  • shadow theatre artists;
  • variety show artists; or
  • circus artists.
• phonogram producers;
•  producers of audio-visual works;
• television and radio organisations; and
• publishers.

Copyright may protect any of the following works:

• scientific works
• literary works, such as:
  • novels;
  • stories;
  • poetic works;
  • plays;
  • film scenarios;
  • manuals;
  • biographies;
  • essays;
  • articles;
  • encyclopaedias;
  • dictionaries;
  • memos;
  • lectures;
• computer program;
• artistic works, such as:
  • paintings;
  • drawings;
  • etchings;
  • lithographs;
  • woodcuts;
  • engravings and prints;
  • geographic maps
  • plans and diagrams;
  • works of sculpture;
  • photographs not comprised in a cinematograph film;
  • works of architecture in the form of buildings or models;
  • other works of artistic craftmanship;
  • woven tissues;
  • articles of applied handicraft and industrial art;
• cinematograph film;
• audio-visual work;
• moving images, databases;
• sound recordings, transmissions;
• publications of unpublished works.

It is noted that, ideas, procedures, operation methods, principles and elements that are not expressed in some way are not protectable.

The conditions for the protection of the above works in the Republic of Cyprus are the following:

• the work is original;
• the work was published for the first time in the Republic of Cyprus or was erected within the territory of the Republic of Cyprus or has been incorporated in a building that is located in the territory of the Republic of Cyprus;
• the beneficiary or any of the beneficiaries is a natural person and citizen of the European Union or a legal person which has been incorporated in the European Union.

As the copyright owner, you have the exclusive right of exploitation of the work, including any:

• reproduction;
• advertising;
• sale;
• rental;
• distribution;
• lending;
• exhibiting the original or copies in public;
• television and radio transmission;
• broadcasting;
• translation;
• adaptation;
• communication to the public;
• prohibiting or consenting to the disposal of the work or part thereof to the public.

An orphan work is a work for which none the holders has been identified, or even if one of them has been identified, none can be located, notwithstanding the carrying out of a diligent search for them.

The use of orphan works is permitted, by the following organisations, for achieving goals relating to their public interest mission, provided that proper authorisation has been secured from the rights holder that have been identified and located;

• libraries;
• educational institutions;
• museums;
• archives;
• film and audio heritage institutions; and
• public service broadcasting organisations,

that are established in the Republic of Cyprus and are accessible to the public.

Television and radio broadcasts concern the material fixation of a program, which can be either wire or wireless, such as, for example, cable or satellite transmission.

The transmission of cable programs is made on the basis of individual or collective agreements between, on the one part, the program creators and the beneficiaries of neighbouring rights and, on the other part, the cable network exploitation enterprises.

Copyright over a program comprises of the exclusive right to:

• register or reproduce and retransmit the whole or substantial part of the program;
• transmit or retransmit it to the public in an area where entry is permitted only upon ticket payment;
• the material fixation of the program;
• the rental and lending of material fixations of the program;
• the distribution of material fixations of the program;
• the taking of photographs from the program.

Computer programs, as well as their preparatory design material, are protected as literary works on the condition that they are personal intellectual creations of their author and not a copy of some existing program.

Copyright over a computer program comprises of the exclusive right, in the Republic of Cyprus, of:

• permanent or temporary reproduction of the whole or part of the computer program, by any means and form, including reproduction required for loading, appearing on screen, execution, transfer or storage thereof;
• the translation, adjustment or any other conversion of the computer program and reproduction of its results;
• the distribution to the public in any form, including the rental of the original computer program or copies thereof.

A database concerns the collection works, data or other independent elements, organised in a systematic or methodical manner and individually accessible by electronic means or otherwise.

The creator of a database, which is original, has the exclusive right of its exploitation, as follows:

• the temporary or lasting reproduction of the whole or part thereof, by any means and form;
• the translation, adjustment, and any other modification thereof;
• the distribution of the database or of copies thereof to the public;
• the announcement, display or presentation thereof to the public;
• the reproduction, distribution, announcement, display or presentation to the public of the results of any modification thereof.

Copyright is obtained automatically, at the time when this appears in some material form, meaning it has been reduced to writing, audio recorded, recorded in any way by electronic or other means and provided that the said object is original. An original work is the personal intellectual creation and not an imitation of an existing work or draft work.

Consequently, obtaining and exercising copyright in the Republic of Cyprus does not require its publication, entry into some register nor the renewal of its protection.

For more information, refer to the page Protecting your creation.

A Trademark is a mark which consists of points based on graphic appearance. It may include words, including the name of a person, images, letters, numbers, the shape of the product or the package or any combination of these, which can distinguish the product or services of an enterprise from the corresponding ones of other enterprises, provided that the mark is used or is intended to be used for such distinction purposes.

For further details, please refer to the page About Trade Mark.

It cannot be registered as a Trademark, a mark which is not compliant with the provisions of articles 11(1), 13 and 14 of the Trademarks Law Cap. 268. A Trademark cannot be registered if:

• It does not fall within the interpretation of the definition of a Trademark, which is contained in Article 2 of the Trademarks Law;
• Lacks distinctive character;
• Comprises exclusively of points that show they type, quality, quantity, destination, value, geographic origin or manufacturing time of the good;
• May be misleading as to the nature, quality or geographic origin of the good or service;
• Includes a symbol of large value and particularly a religious symbol;
• The application for registration was made in bad faith by the applicant.
• Opposes public order or good morals;
• Is identical, or similar to an already registered Trademark, in the national, community or international register, regarding identical or similar goods or services.

There are the following types of Trademarks:

• Word: Word Trademarks contain words and/or letters in fixed characters;
• Figurative: Figurative Trademarks contain images and/or graphics. They do not contain words and/or letters;
• Combined (Word with figure): Combined trademarks contain words and/or letters in combination with images and/or graphics, even images and/or graphics that contain words and/or letters. Combined Trademarks are also considered to be those containing non-Latin characters and letters with special manners of writing;
• Three-dimensional: Three-dimensional trademarks include at least thee sides of the Trademark.

For further details follow the page Types of Trademarks.

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The registration procedure of a trademark begins with the filing of an application by an authorised lawyer with the form Ε.Σ. Αρ.2. The application is filed as a pending application, a relevant number is given and an examination is followed for any omissions or mistakes.

Following the submission, the application is examined accrording Article 14 in relation to identical/similar pre-registered national, community and international trademarks based in Cyprus and according Article 11, which concerns registrability and distinctiveness of the trademark. The Registrar of Trademarks issues a decision which can be an absolute acceptance, objection, or conditional or restricted acceptance.

In case of objection, or conditional or restricted acceptance, a comprehensive written reply and/or a request for hearing before the Registrar of Trademarks can be filed. In case of absolute acceptance, or conditional or restricted acceptance whose terms where accepted by the applicant, the fees for publication in the Official Gazette of the Republic are paid.

Within two months from the publication date, a notice of objection to the registration of the trademark can be filed by any person by the submission of form Ε.Σ.αρ.5, stating the objection reasons. If there is no objection, form Ε.Σ. Αρ.9f is paid for the issue of registration certificate. If this fee is not paid within the specified deadline, form Ε.Σ. Αρ.8 is sent, whereby final notice is given to the applicant for the payment of the relevant fee within a period of one month.

For further details follow the page Registration of National Trade Mark.

The application available through efling is form Ε.Σ. Αρ.2 (Application for Trademark Registration).

The benefits for online submissions are very important because it is not compulsory to be accompanied by a power of attorney and a priority is given for the examination.

To obtain access and use the e-filing system of trademarks, you must first register to the government gateway portal “ARIADNI”, if you are not already registered, as a law firm user or as an authorised user of law firm or as natural person (registered lawyer).

Following the registration, the user’s profile will be activated by the Department of Registrar of Companies and Intellectual Property, Intellectual Property Section, provided that the appropriate form is completed according to the guidance. All the guidance as well as forms are available on the webpage of the Intellectual Property Section. Our office must verify the user’s details before the activation of user's profile in the system. If it deems necessary, the Registrar may request the submission of additional documents before the activation of the users profile. 

For more details, pleases refer to the page Obtain access to e-filing.

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Two months before the expiration of the trademark, a notice is sent to the owner for the filing of a renewal. If the form Ε.Σ. Αρ.32 ,relating the has already been submitted, then one month before the expiry of the trademark, a second notice is sent to this address. If the relevant renewal fee is filed with form Ε.Σ. Αρ.11, the trademark is renewed and a relevant certificate is issued. If the renewal fee is not paid, then the trademark is published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Cyprus under the category “Unpaid Renewal Fees”.

Within two months from the publication date, additional fees for the renewal can be submitted with form Ε.Σ. Αρ.11 together with form Ε.Σ. Αρ.12. After the expiration of two months, the trademark is strike off from the register. A trademark that is strike off, can be restored with the submission of the renewal fees with form Ε.Σ. Αρ.13 accompanied with an affidavit stating the the reasons of non-renewal.

For more details, please refer to the page Trade mark renewal.

If the trademark covers different classes of goods/services, then separate applications must be submitted for each class. 

Following the European court decision in realation to the “IP Translator” case and within the context of the European convergence program “Class heading”, the Registrar of Trademarks decided that from 01/01/2013 in national applications, the phrase “all goods/services of the class” shall not be acceptable for Trademark registration. Instead of this phrase, you can use “commonly accepted set of general classification terms covering all products or services of a given class at a given time”. This set of general terms is called “application fields of classes” and is available in TMClass tool.

It is an expanded database, which includes national Trademark registers of all participating offices. It is available to the public 24 hours per day, 7 days per week and in all languages of the participating offices. In case of any additions in new Trademarks or changes to existing Trademarks the register is updated on the following day. Its use is provided free of charge.

The register of trademarks is maintained at the office of the Registrar of Companies and Intellectual Property. In regards with the pending applications for trademark registration, these are filed in the list of pending applications until the issue of their certificate of registration, where they will be filed in the national trademarks register.

The change of owner’s name for registered trademarks can be made with form ΕΣ. Αρ. 21. As a requirenment for the change of owner’s name, is the submission of any original or certified copies whereby certifying the relevant change by the competent authority of the owner’s country. Regarding documents from abroad, 2€ (two euro) stamp duty must be attached and a certified translation by an affidavit. Additionally, a form of authorisation with the new owner’s name must be filed.

The change of owner’s address for registered trademarks can be made with form ΕΣ. Αρ. 18. As regards the change of address, no further documents are required. The application for change of owner’s name or address can be submitted for more than one trademarks.

For further details follow the page Amending Trademark's particulars.

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The assignment of a trademark can be completed with form Ε.Σ.16. In order to be able to examine the application, the assignment agreement or certified copies must be submitted. Regarding documents submitted from abroad, a fee of tow (2€) euro stamp duty must be attached and translated in the Greek language by an affidavit, along with the authorisation form by the assignee.The application for the trademark assignment can be submitted for more than one trademarks.

In case where one of the assingment participants, is Cypriot, the agreement must be duly stamped by the Registrar of Stamp Duties.

The registration of the licensee is submitted with form Ε.Σ. 43. A prerequisite for such registration is that the trademark must be registered and renewed.

The form Ε.Σ. 43 must be accompanied by the following:

• statement of case by affidavit: which is a summary of the agreement between the involved parties. In case where it is from abroad, then two (€2) stamp duty must be attached.

It must include:

1. If the licensee is exclusive or not (obligatory information);
2. duration of the right (obligatory information);
3. whether the use involves all or some of the goods/services covered by the mark (obligatory information);
4. other information, e.g. owner’s right of supervision over whether the specifications are included, etc (optional information).

The agreement between the two parties for the right of use is not obligatory to be submitted to the Department. The submssion is compulsory only when it is expressly stated in the statement of case.

It is noted that any attached document from abroad must be translated in Greek, either by an affidavit or by sworn translator of the Republic of Cyprus. The examination of the application follows and the publication in the Official Gazette of the Republic.

The cancellation of a licensee is submitted wiht form Ε.Σ.45. It can be submitted either by the owner of the trademark or by the licensee, or by both of them. In case where the trademark has more than one licensees, a separate cancellation form must be submitted for each one. Cancellation may concern all or some of the marks of the owner.

Form Ε.Σ.45 must be accompanied by:

• Declaration by the owner or the licensee or by both for the cancellation reasons.

It is noted that any attached document from abroad must be translated in Greek, either by an affidavit or by sworn translator of the Republic of Cyprus. The examination of the application follows and the publication in the Official Gazette of the Republic.

In case where the declaration of licence cancellation is made only by the owner, prior notice of the cancellation shall be made in the official gazette of the Republic and, within two months, if there is no objection, we proceed to the completion of the application and its publication in the Official Gazette of the Republic.

According to Nice classification, an international classification of goods and services applied the goods or services for which trademarks are submitted, are classified in various categories (classes).Nice classification consists of forty five (45) classes of goods and services. The Nice classification assigns goods from classes 1 to 34, and services from classes 35 to 45.Each class is represented by a class heading, which provides general information on the type of goods or services it represents, and under the heading there is a wide spectrum of product or service terms that fall within the class.

Cyprus follows the Nice classification.

For further information regarding the relevant procedure, you may refer to the page About trade mark.

Vienna classification is an international classification system which was established in 1973 by the Vienna agreement for the classification of figurative elements of Trademarks and is managed by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).

Vienna classification constitutes an hierarchical which proceeds from general to particular, classifying all figurative elements of trademarks into categories, subdivisions and sections based on their shape.

Cyprus follows the Vienna classification.

For further information regarding the relevant procedure, you may refer to the page About trade mark.

A European trademark may be converted into a national, in the cases where the community application is cancelled/dismissed in the EUIPO:

The applicant within 3 months from the cancellation date has the right to submit to the EUIPO an application for conversion.Upon examination of the the application,EUIPO will decide to accept it or not and will notify accordingly by letter the national offices, accompanied by relevant documents, in order to proceed. Following that, the national office acts appropriately for the authorisation of a lawyer in Cyprus, in order to submit the national application accompanied with all the relevant to the conversion documents translated. In this case, the conversion application is submitted to obtain the submission date of the application to the EUIPO.

Also, within the context of conversion, a possibility of claiming a priority date is given, if with the community application a priority date had been requested on the basis of the trademark application in an previous country. The national office accepts it and examines all related documents.EUIPO, is responsible for a detailed examination of priority documents.Upon the submission of the community trademark,EUIPO decides whether the depositor has the right to claim a priority date. In this way, the time limit of 6 months from the submission date in another country until the submission of the application in Cyprus can be exceeded. Following that, the conversion can be submitted to claim a priority date on the basis of the Paris Convention, after the conversion of the community trademark.

In order the request for the claim of the submission date at the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) or the priority date on the basis of the Paris Convention to be accepted, point (f) of Ε.Σ. 2 must be completed as below:

“The date ……… is claimed, as the date of submission of community application no. …….. to the European Union Intellectual Property Office”

or

“The date …….. is claimed, as the priority date, on the basis of the Paris Convention, following a conversion of community trademark no. ………”

For further information regarding the relevant procedure, you may refer to the page Converting European trademark into national.

The Madrid System for the International Registration of Trademarks, provides a single procedure for the registration of a Trademark in different countries. It is governed by two treaties, the Madrid agreement and the Protocol relating to the Madrid agreement and is managed by the International Office of WIPO in Geneva, Switzerland.

Some of the advantages of an International Registration are:

Geographic advantages; an applicant using the Madrid system may submit an application for the protection of a trademark in 98 contracting member-states with one application and language,by paying a total fee, instead of submitting separate applications in different offices of the various member-states.

• Following the registration of a Trademark through the Madrid system, the holder of an international registration can extend the geographic scope of the trademark in additional contracting areas in a fast, simple and cost effective way;
• There will be a single expiry date only, despite of how many of the parties have been included in the international registration of a trademark by the use of the Madrid system;. The submission may be renewed in a simple way (and electronically) for all or any of the parties included in the registration;
• The management cost (e.g. translation of the list of goods and services, representative fees) is lower when comparing to various filings in national territories;
• Generally, there are fewer delays due to the single management system.

The Madrid system does not cover all countries internationally. You can find relevant information of the list with the countries of protection at the WIPO website.

All international applications after 31/10/2015 are filed with the submission of form MM2 with the Department of Registrar of Companies and Intellectual Property.

Applications claiming protection in the U.S.A. must also submit form MM18.

All applications are available at http://www.wipo.int/madrid/en/forms.

Guidance on how to complete the forms can be found in the GUIDE TO THE INTERNATIONAL REGISTRATION OF MARKS UNDER THE MADRID AGREEMENT AND THE MADRID PROTOCOL.

For the submission of MM2 form, explanatory notes on how to complete the form are provided at http://www.wipo.int/madrid/en/forms.

For further details , please follow the page Registration of International Trade mark (Madrid system).

All applications are available at http://www.wipo.int/madrid/en/forms.

The procedure for the assignment, change of name, change of address, change of representative etc., of an International Trademark is available in the GUIDE TO THE INTERNATIONAL REGISTRATION OF MARKS UNDER THE MADRID AGREEMENT AND THE MADRID PROTOCOL.

Before the completion of the forms (assignment, change of address etc.) at an International level, a corresponding and relevant change must be submittted in a National level.

Yes, it is a necessary prerequisite.

An international application may be registered , provided that the trademark has been registered or an application for registration has been filed in a national level.

The cost for registration depends on the number of selected parties, the number of classes and on whether the mark is black and white or colour.

The cost for the supplementary registration depends on the number of selected parties and the number of classes.

The cost for renewal depends mainly on the number of selected parties and the number of classes.

The method of payment to the WIPO are the following:

• By charging a current account that has been opened in the International Office;
• By Payment in the bank account of WIPO;
• Through credit card (Visa, Mastercard, American Express), in cases where electronic payment has been made available by the International Office;
• By payment to the postal account of WIPO (only within Europe).

The fee payment in the case of an international application, supplementary registration or change to an international filing must be made on day on which the application was received by the International Office. If the fees have not been paid, the International Office shall send a notice of irregularity to the applicant, requesting the payment of fees within three months of the date of notification of the irregularity by the International Office.

In case where the fees are not paid through the office of origin, the office is not obliged to check whether payment has been made.

Payment cannot be made in currency other than the Swiss franc (CHF).

Following the submission of an international application with the office of the Registrar of Companies and Intellectual Property, within two months of the submission date, all necessary corrections must be made, before sending the application to the International Office. Otherwise, the registration date shall be deemed to be the date of receipt of the application by the International Office.

The International Office (WIPO), after examining if the the application that is compliant with the relevant guidances, registers the trademark into the International Register. It proceeds to inform the Office of origin and sends a certificate of international filing to the trademark holder or to the representative thereof. Also, it informs the parties that have been specified in the application of international registration. The trademark offices parties proceed to examine the trademark and either protect it, or reject, within the time limits specified in the agreement or protocol. The deadline for a party to notify a dismissal is generally one year. According to the protocol, however, a party can declare that this period must be 18 months (or even more).

No.The international application (MM2) must be sent to the International Office through the Origin Office.

An international application may be submitted in English, French or Spanish. However, the Origin Office may limit the choice to one or two of these languages. The Cypriot office has set the English language as the language of registration.

The persons entitled to file an International Trademark are the lawyers who are licenced professionals in Cyprus.

The International Office maintains an online database, so called ROMARIN (Read-Only-Memory of Madrid Active Registry Information) as well as the Madrid Monitor, which are available free of charge.

You may get informed of the status of your trademark in the following links:

• Monitor: Madrid e-Services and
• Madrid Monitor.

Nice classification is a system for the international classification of goods and services.

The trademark shall be protected only for the goods and/or services mentioned in the application. The classification of goods and/or services must be made according to the international classification of goods and services (“Nice classification”).

An international registration, initially is protected for 10 years and the protection can be renewed indefinitely. Each renewal is made for an additional 10 years.

An Industrial Design or Model is the appearance of the whole or part of a product, which arises from its particular characteristics. The line, outline, shape, form and colour, constitute among others, elements of the outer appearance of a product.

A certificate of registering a design or model is granted to the beneficiary, for a new and unique design or model under the applicant’s responsibility.

The Industrial Design is protected for twentyfive (25) years, provided that the renewal fees are paid every five years.

The filing of an industrial design or model is made by the submission of an application (ΒΣΥ1) to the Department of Registrar of Companies and Intellectual Property, accompanied by:

• the illustrations of each design or model;
• (form ΒΣΥ5) in case where the applicant has no residence or registered office in the Republic of Cyprus;
• application fee payment;
• first five-year protection period fee.

No lawyer is required for the submission of the application for the filing of an industrial design.

The beneficiary of an industrial design or model acquires the exclusive right to use it, meaning to manufacture it and generally to commercially exploit it by prohibiting its use by any third party without their consent.

The certificate of filing an industrial design or model is a protection title granted to the proprietor for an industrial design or model that is new and unique.

Through the Design View tool and eSearch plus tool of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) you can search among national and community industrial designs or models filed in the Republic of Cyprus as well in intellectual property offices of other countries.

Furthermore, the global industrial design database is also available for search through the website of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).

In case you need additional time for purposes e.g. of further development of your product or its promotion, you may complete the relevant field of the application (form ΒΣΥ1) in relation to publication postponment, for a period up to 12 months, accompanied by the relevant fee of forty-two euros and seventy-two cents (€42,72).

Yes, provided that previous filing, concerns the same design or model and has been submitted in one of the member states of the European Union (or a member-state of the Treaty of Paris) within a 6 month period before the filing of the national application in the Republic of Cyprus.

Following the submission of the application, few changes are allowed, such as changes or corrections to applicant or proprietor of the industrial design or model details.